Snail Mail Still Strong Way to Snare Shoppers

Snail mail beats out email in terms of response rates for certain kinds of communications, including confidential business information, according to a new survey by International Communications Research and reported by Pitney Bowes.

The survey shows that 73 percent of respondents prefer to receive product announcements via mail as opposed to 18 percent who prefer to receive those announcements via email, from companies with whom they are already in contact with.

For companies with whom a respondent is not already in contact with, 70 percent prefer to hear about new products and services via mail.

For communications on things such as bills, bank statements and financial reports, 86 percent of respondents prefer mail. The survey also found that consumers are less likely to discard unopened mail (31 percent) – including new product brochures, catalogs or other advertising materials – than they are to discard unsolicited emails about new products (53.2 percent).

Mail offers are also considered less disruptive of daily activities than both phone or email solicitations.

See additional survey results at MarketingCharts.